Requesting Names

How to request name certification for a new meteorite from the Nomenclature Committee

Anyone having a meteorite without a name may request a name for it. To do so, certain information must be submitted to the Editor of the Meteoritical Bulletin and a small type specimen must be provided to a well-curated institutional collection with a long-term commitment to curation. Submissions may be made at any time and are reviewed continuously throughout the year.

The required template for submission, an Excel file, may be found here. It covers all new meteorites. There is no longer a separate template for NWA meteorites. In case of difficulties with the download, please contact the editor (Carl Agee) at metbulleditor_at_gmail.com for assistance.

Written descriptions of new meteorites are encouraged. However, many descriptions will now only be published online, in the Meteoritical Bulletin Database. At the editor's discretion, some descriptions will be selected for printing in the hardcopy version of the Meteoritical Bulletin.

Submission of a written description is mandatory for falls, new types of meteorites and meteorites with anomalous characteristics; it is optional for all other meteorites. In certain cases, the editor may request a written description for a meteorite.

Unlike in the past, written descriptions are now submitted using the excel template above. All written descriptions are subject to editing prior to publication in the Meteoritical Bulletin or the Meteoritical Bulletin database.

Schedule and deadlines for meteorite name certification

The Nomenclature Committee normally needs at least three weeks to process a request for a new name and to communicate the information to the Bulletin.

If you have a deadline for a publication that refers to a meteorite that has not yet been named, please submit the needed information to the Bulletin as early as possible and inform the Editor of the deadline. The committee will do its best to help you meet your deadline.